Friday, 20 May 2016

IMPEACHED KOGI STATE SPEAKER REINSTATED BY COURT

The Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, has reinstated the impeached speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Momoh Jimoh Lawal, and other principal officers of the House.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, in his judgment, yesterday, held that the process for the removal of the principal officers was not in accordance with Sections 92(2) (c) and 96 of the 1999 Constitution

By the pronouncement, the five Kogi lawmakers: Umar Imam; Friday Sani; Lawal A.T. Ahmed; Bello Abdullahi and John Abah, who purportedly impeached Lawan as speaker and joined as defendants in the case, ceased to be principal officers of the Kogi Assembly. The judge said that the claim made by the five lawmakers, who effected the removal of the principal officers, that they resigned voluntarily, “is a fatally flawed premise” because they did not place any evidence of the resignation before the court. He said even if the elected officials were impeached, on the basis of voluntary resignation, “by simple arithmetic, for a legislature that is down to 20 members from 25 at 16/2/16, two-third of that means not less than 14 (or 13) members, of the House supporting the impeachment.”The speaker, his deputy, Aliyu Akuh, seven other members of the Assembly, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) filed the originating summons through their counsel, Emeka Etiaba (SAN). They contended that the purported impeachment of the speaker on February 16, 2016, breached sections 90, 91, 92(2) (c), 95 (1) and (2) and 96(1) (2) of the Constitution and, therefore, unconstitutional, illegal, null and void. The judge, however, refused to make orders against the inspector general of police (IGP), director-general, Department of State Services (DSS) and the commandant of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) over their role during the purported impeachment.